Foreign policy

• Foreign policy


  The policy a government adopts in its dealings with other countries
• Brittany and France


  • Fr invaded Bri in 1487
  • HVII raised taxes in 89 to collect an army due to a sense of obligation and fear of Fr influence
  • Eng and Bri agree to the Treaty of Redon Feb 89, where Duchess Anne would pay for a small English army to defend Bri from Fr
  • HVII made an alliance with Maximilian of the HRE, and M and A got married-by-proxy
  • Anne surrendered and married Charles VIII of Fr before the army could help for fear of futile resistance
  • Things got worse when Warbeck looked for Fr support in his claim for the throne
  • HVII launched an invasion in 92, late in the campaigning season, forcing Fr to seek a peace agreement
  • Fr: agree to withdraw support of Warbeck, pay HVII a pension to compensate for the army
  • Period of general cordiality in Anglo-French relations
• Burgundy, the Netherlands, HRE


  • Antwerp and Bruges were the hotspots of Eng trade (under the jurisdiction of Burgundy)
  • Margaret of Burgundy was RIII's sister
  • Maximillian of HRE (MoB's stepson) passed over ownership of the Netherlands to his son, Philip in 1494
  • Intercursus Magnus 96 where they ended the trade embargo
  • Intercursus Malus 04 placed Eng in a more favourable trading position with merchants in the Netherlands
  • Philip and Maximillian agree to handover their Yorkist fugitive, Earl of Suffolk, whom is promptly imprisoned in the Tower
• Spain


  • Treaty of Medina del Campo 89: Ferdinand and HVII offered mutual protection, agreed not to harbour rebels or pretenders, and arranged a marriage alliance between Arthur and Catherine
  • Arrangements for the marriage did not go smoothly, Ferdinand proved reluctant to allow the marriage to go ahead as long as HVII remained threatened by Warbeck, arguments over Catherine's dowry size
  • The details of the marriage were finally finalised in 99 and took place in 01, however Arthur's death in 02 brought complications of HVII's relationship with Ferdinand
  • HVII immediately suggested CoA marry Henry, but Fe was reluctant, said the marriage needs papal dispensation which would be costly
  • 04 Isabella of Castille died, making Fe lose quite a lot of political power, Sp fell into a succession uncertainty between Juana and Fe, HVII backing Juana which ended up being a poor move to make
  • In Jan 06 Philip of Burgundy and Juana I of Castile were forced to take refuge in Eng and HVII manipulated them into signing Treaty of Windsor
  • Philip of Burgundy died, Fe takes the throne, and ensures that Henry's and Catherine's marriage doesn't take place in his lifetime
• Scotland


  • 85-95: Relations were tense
  • 95-96: James IV offered hospitality to Warbeck where he stayed for two years in the Scottish court, received a pension and an aristocratic marriage, JIV also encouraged Warbeck to cross the border in 96 with an army
  • 97: Cornish Rebellion over raised taxes for the army, led to the Treaty of Ayton 97
  • 98-01: Relations significantly improved, and Warbeck was discarded back to Eng by JIV
  • 01-03: JIV marriage to Margaret, sanctioned by the Treaty of Perpetual Peace
• Ireland


  • Power in Ireland only extended to the 'Pale', the rest was governed by the Anglo-Norman barons
  • The dominant figure was Earl of Kildare (leader of the Geraldines), Lord Deputy of Ireland since 1477, feared by HVII because he had Yorkist sympathies
  • HVII took a more costly approach in governing the 'Pale', appointed Prince Henry as Lieutenant of Ireland and Sir Edward Poynings as his deputy, forced Ir Parliament to pass the 'Poynings Law' in 95 which laid out that the Ir gov couldn't pass any law without prior agreement of Eng, tried to implement Eng law in Ir
  • This proved to be too expensive and financial problems were made worse by Warbeck's return to Ir in 95, HVII went back to relying on Kildare, a much cheaper option
  • 1496 Kildare stopped supporting Yorkists and secured the submission of several different Irish chieftains
  • By 1500 Ir was in a sensible peaceful relation to Eng